As the streaming model has grown in popularity, ways to watch have also proliferated. Consumers can carry vast content libraries with them everywhere they go thanks to mobile devices and laptops, but there is still an overwhelming preference for connected TV over other streaming options. In fact, 50.4% of consumers who watch streaming content say their preferred device is a smart TV or connected TV. An additional 23.5% say they prefer to watch on a TV equipped with an external smart device (e.g. Roku, Apple TV), bringing the total percent of CTV users to 73.9%, according to tvScientific’s latest report.
The survey also revealed that over 80% of consumers use more than one streaming service. At the same time, 80% of CTV viewers watch ad-supported content. According to the report, 35% of consumers say they use only one ad-supported streaming service, 24.6% say they use two services, and 32% say they use three or more. Taken together, 91.6% of consumers who watch streaming content use at least one ad-supported service.
“For example, while ad-supported platforms like Hulu and Amazon Prime are popular choices for movies and shows, YouTube is a more entrenched part of daily life for many people. With over 2 billion monthly active users, YouTube’s ad-supported service is a repository for videos of all kinds (and of all lengths), even for viewers who might turn elsewhere on family movie night,” the report explains.
Regarding ads, 79.3% of consumers say they understand the role ads play in keeping content free. Moreover, 49.3% of consumers are amenable toward ads, saying that they can recall the last ad they saw while watching video content.
Only 54.3% of consumers say they are willing to pay more for an ad-free streaming service. This indicates that streaming ads still play a crucial role in making content accessible for 45.7% of consumers. In other words, nearly half of consumers so thoroughly understand and accept the importance of ads that they would rather watch ad-supported content than pay a fee to watch video content ad-free.
“Connected TV has turned television advertising into an extremely powerful performance channel. From the deep-seated familiarity of commercial advertising breaks to the ingrained behavior of second screen engagement, audiences today are perfectly primed to accept, understand, and even appreciate TV and streaming ads,” the report concludes.
